large sized safe windmill with high efficiency

ABSTRACT

A large sized safe windmill with high efficiency is made up of plural vane-assemblies. Each assembly includes an axle center ( 2 ) that connecting the adjacent vane-assemblies by the connectors ( 21 ) for transferring power on the ends of the center. Then the power is finally transferred to the generator ( 82 ) that generating electricity at the bottom of the windmill. There are plural blade-assemblies extend from the axle center. The vane blade ( 1 ) has an extending plane ( 11 ) that bending relative to the outside of the axle center, and the extending plane is angled with the blade about 18˜20°. There are rotating axes ( 13,14 ) controlling the rotation of plurality of vane blades both on the upside and on the underside thereof. There are horizontal protective shafts ( 15,16 ) around the axes and vertical connecting shafts ( 17 ) between the vane blades. The vertical connecting shafts transfer power from the blades to the horizontal protective shafts, and thereafter the power concentrates to the axle center. A dogvane ( 4 ) and a wind-speed switch ( 6 ) are set on top of the windmill, which vary the rotation of the vane blades by means of the changing the direction and degree of the wind.

THE ART

The present invention relates to a large, safe, highly-efficientwindmill. In particular, it relates to a windmill structure that allowsincreases in windmill size to capture large amounts of wind power forthe generation of electricity, with the result that investment costsdecline and power generation profits increase, while windpower captureremains safe and long-lasting.

BACKGROUND ART

The conventional art is as described in “A Windmill” (Chinese patent ZL96120092.8, hereinafter referred to as the “Reference Invention”). Theart of the Reference Invention lies in solving such conventionalwindpower system defects as “unstable energy output,” “insufficientsafety,” and “higher cost.” Therefore, the Reference Invention employs aplurality of small-area blade assemblies to collect the wind energy ofmany blades and concentrate it in a central axle. In addition,destructive factors of the windmill system, such as its weight and itsshaking, are evenly distributed across the many blades to avoid thedamage that results from the concentration of stress on one point.Furthermore, the Reference Invention adjusts the windmill blades so thattheir windward surfaces are vertical, thereby maximizing the windwardarea. It adjusts windmill blades that are not facing the wind to makethem horizontal and thereby minimizes their resistance. Theabove-described structure, further complemented by many designs toprotect against strong wind and snow accumulations, constitutes theimproved windmill structure of the Reference Invention.

However, the design of the Reference Invention is still imperfect. Itstill has a number of deficiencies that necessitate furtherimprovements. First of all, though the frame of the Reference Inventionhas a steel beam and column design, it is constrained by the effects ofthe rotating faces of the windmill blades and is still structurallyloose. In particular, in windmills of increased size, when the windmillblades are built to a certain height, their own weight, in addition tothe effects of windpower, causes instability of the frame structure andincreases the probability of its becoming damaged. Furthermore, theblade design of the Reference Invention is still the traditional designand is unable to effectively concentrate windpower, but allows thewindpower to be dispersed everywhere and thereby wastes energy. Inaddition, the Reference Invention has an inappropriate drive mechanismdesign in which all blade rotation is controlled from the centeroutwards. Thus, when larger windmills are set up, the farther out thewindmill blades are, the more difficult it becomes to drive them.Furthermore, the windmill blades of the Reference Invention are notproperly secured. As a result, when winds are relatively intense, theblades are likely to shake or manifest other undesirable phenomena,thereby diminishing windmill energy efficiency and constituting anobstacle to the building of larger windmills.

Thus, it is clear that the Reference Invention described above and otherconventional art have deficiencies that necessitate improvement. In viewof the above deficiencies, this inventor set about making improvementsand eventually developed the large, safe, highly-efficient windmill putforward by the present application.

CONTENTS OF THE INVENTION

The main object of the present invention is to provide a large, safe,highly-efficient windmill, which would allow increased windmill size,reduce investment costs, and increase power generation profits.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a large, safe,highly-efficient windmill that would greatly increase the safety ofwindmill systems and reduce the demand for personnel and materials.

A large, safe, highly-efficient windmill which can achieve one of theobjects described above comprises, on the whole, a plurality of fan vaneassemblies stacked on top of each other. Each fan vane assemblycomprises a fan vane axle center. At the two ends of this axle areconnectors connecting to two fan vane assemblies, above and below, andtransmitting motive power, ultimately, to the generator at the base,which generates electric power. Extending from these connectors arevertical H-shaped columns or H-shaped crossbeams. In addition, at thebase of the windmill, where there are no fan vane assemblies, there arereinforcing vertical columns, and there is a roof at the top of theframe to prevent the accumulation of snow on the blades. Furthermore, aplurality of blade assemblies extends in two directions from the fanvane axle center. The blades have a curved extension plane at the distalend from the fan vane axle center, such that the extension plane is atan 18-20 degree angle relative to the blade. A rotating shaft isprovided above and below the fan vane assembly. Said rotating shaft isequipped with a drive motor, which enables the rotating shaft to controlthe rotation of a plurality of blades. The rotating shafts areexternally provided with horizontal protective rods, and verticalconnecting rods are provided between upper and lower pluralities ofblades. The vertical connecting rods concentrate the motive power of theblades to the upper and lower horizontal protective rods so as toconcentrate the wind energy of the fan vane assemblies to the fan vaneaxle center. In addition, a wind-direction vane is provided on top ofthe windmill. This wind-direction vane is connected to a wind-speedswitch. Depending on variations in wind direction or wind force, it canchange the rotation of the blades to obtain optimal wind energyefficiency.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Please refer below to the detailed descriptions of the preferredembodiments of the present invention and to the attached drawings for abetter understanding of the technical contents of the present inventionand to the efficacy of its objects. The drawings relating to theembodiments are:

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional drawing of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a fan vane assembly of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3A is a structural diagram of a wind-direction vane of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a windmill blade rotation control structure ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a windmill blade transmission and safetystructure of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of blade lift in the present invention.

EXPLANATION OF SYMBOLS

 1 Blade 12 Spinning axle 13, 14 Rotating shaft 15, 16 Horizontalprotective rod 17 Vertical connecting rod 18 Projection 2 Fan vane axlecenter 21 Connector 22 Horizontal rotating shaft 23, 24 Rotating disk 25Cover 31, 32 Drive motor 33, 34 Relay  4 Wind-direction vane 41Fan-shaped controller 42 Microswitch 51 H-shaped column 52 H-shapedcrossbeam 53 Vertical column 54 Horizontal beam 55 Roof 56 Supportingcolumn  6 Wind-speed switch 61 Fan-shaped control wheel 62 Microswitch71, 72, 73, 74, 75 Push rod 81 Gear box 82 Generator A Wind direction FEscaping wind energy P Traditional windpower generator P1 Optimal curvedsurface R Blade movement direction

Optimal Embodiments

Please refer to FIGS. 1 through 3. The present invention provides alarge, safe, highly-efficient windmill. Its “expandable” structureentails stacking one layer of many blades 1 on top of another in aprocess of incremental expansion. The windward area is increased byincreasing the number of blades 1. Or the windward area is increased byincreasing the diameter of the blade 1 assemblies from the fan vane axlecenter 2 that is vertically disposed in the center of the structuretowards two sides, adding blades 1 one section at a time on the twosides. The cumulative result of these approaches is huge areas (such as10,000 square meters) that concentrate wind energy absorbed from theblade 1 assemblies onto the same vertical fan vane axle center 2, whichextends down to the ground-level gear box 81 that drives the generator82 that generates electricity. When the above-described huge-areastructure rotates, the shaking and vibrations which it generates areevenly diffused over the entire structure and are not concentrated atone point, where they would constitute a destructive force. Therefore,it is very safe to increase the size of the windmill, and therelationship between the upper-level fan vane axle center 2 and thelower-level fan vane axle center 2 is limited to transmitting torque andspeed. The weight of the blades 1 of the upper layer will not press ondown on the blades 1 of the lower layer and thus become a load on thelower-layer fan vane axle center 2.

A detailed description follows. The windmill comprises a plurality offan vane assemblies. Each fan vane assembly comprises theabove-described fan vane axle center 2. At each of the two ends of thefan vane axle center 2 is a connector 21, which enables the upper andlower fan vane assemblies to connect and transmit motive power. Inaddition, a plurality of blade 1 assemblies extends to two sides fromthe fan vane axle center 2. The blade 1 assembly is composed of a largenumber of blades 1. Above and below the fan vane assembly are rotatingshafts 13 and 14, respectively. The rotating shafts 13 and 14 areequipped with drive motors 31 and 32, respectively, which enable therotating shafts 13 and 14 to control the rotation of a plurality ofblades 1. The rotating shafts 13 and 14 are externally provided withhorizontal protective rods 15 and 16, respectively, that concentrate thewind energy from the blade assembles onto the fan vane axle center 2. Inaddition, there is a wind wind-direction vane 4 on top of the windmill.This wind wind-direction vane 4 can control the rotation of the blades2.

The blades 1 are supported by an expandable safety structure, which, asshown in FIG. 1, further comprises a frame. This frame extends from theconnectors as H-shaped columns 51 or H-shaped crossbeams 52. The basicstructure consists of four H-shaped columns 51 whose heights areincreased a section at a time from the ground up and H-shaped crossbeams52 extending from the connectors 21 and joined to the H-shaped columns.

To strengthen the structure, the H-shaped columns 51 that serve as thestructural foundation of the frame base are reinforced where there areno fan vane assemblies with vertical columns 53 and with horizontalbeams 54 that interconnect horizontally with the vertical columns 53. Inaddition, the top of the frame is provided with supporting columns 56and with a roof 55 to prevent snow accumulation on the blades.

The above-described generator 82 can be a generating set consisting ofmultiple generators driven by a gear box 81 that is axially provided onthe bottom fan vane axle center 2. This gear box 81, depending on theintensity of the wind force, transmits motive power to any one orsimultaneously to multiple generators 82, which generate electricity.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, on the left and right sides eachsection of the vertical fan vane axle center 2 that rotates in thestructure formed from H-shaped columns 51 and H-shaped crossbeams 52 arefastened left-right symmetrical blade 1 assembly units. The left andright blades 1 are perpendicular to each other as shown in FIG. 6. Theupper and lower horizontal protective rods 15 and 16 that support eachfan vane assembly stabilize the blade 1 assemblies.

The diameter of the blades 1 is increased incrementally by adding blades1. Its safety structure includes:

(1) A vertical connecting rod 17 is provided between the upper and lowerhorizontal protective rods 15 and 16 in order to transmit the windenergy received by the blades 1.

(2) As shown in FIG. 5, each vertical connecting rod 17 has severalprojections 18 which are equal in number to the blades (e.g., fiveblades). The blades 1 are axially mounted at the ends of the projections18.

(3) The projections 18 are connected to the spinning axle 12 of theblades 1 at the front end. When the blades 1 are horizontal, thehorizontal part of this projection 18 can support the back of the blade1 to stabilize the blade 1 in a horizontal position. When the blade 1 isvertical, the vertical part of the projection 18 likewise can supportthe vertical part of the blade 1 and prevent vibrations.

As shown through the analysis above, after each small blade 1 absorbswind energy, the generated force is transmitted from the two ends of theblade 1 and then from the vertical connecting rod 17 to the upper andlower protective rods 15 and 16.These upper and lower protective rods 15and 16 collect the force generated by the blade 1 assembly andconcentrate it onto the fan vane axle center 2. Because the small blades1 on the left and right are responsible only for collecting wind energy,the blades 1 do not affect each other. That is, the blades 1 near thefan vane axle center 2 are not responsible for transmitting wind energycollected by the outside blades 1. Therefore, the blade 1 assembly canbe increased in size, and the overall structure is safer. In addition, acover 25 is installed over the top blade 1 assembly. This cover 25provides protection from snow accumulation so that the blades can keepmoving.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 3A, the wind-direction vane 4 isconnected to a fan-shaped controller 41, and microswitches 42 areprovided were blade 1 assemblies are disposed in the rotation path ofthe fan-shaped controller 41. These microswitches 42 can be driven by acontact sensor or an optical sensor. In the present embodiment, thereare four microswitches 42 whose positions correspond to the cross-shapedblade 1 assembly for precise control of blade 1 rotation. When thewind-direction vane 4 rotates with the wind, the fan-shaped controller41 drives the microswitches 42 at the corresponding positions. Thesemicroswitches 42 activate relays 33 and 34, which control the drivemotors 31 and 32, which adjust the rotation of the blades 1 so that theblade 1 assembly with the windward face is vertical and on the otherside is horizontal.

The wind-direction vane 4 is also connected to a wind-speed switch 6.The wind-speed switch 6 is connected to a fan-shaped control wheel 61. Aplurality of microswitches 62 are provided along the rotation path ofthe fan-shaped control wheel 61. When wind force increases, thefan-shaped control wheel 62 drives the appropriately-positionedmicroswitches 62. The microswitches 62 activate the relay 33 to effectreverse-rotation control of the drive motor 31 and thereby adjust therotation of the blade 1. The drive motor 32 remains unchanged, with theresult that some of the blades 1 of the windward-facing blade 1 assemblyare horizontal. This reduces the area of the windward surface of theblades 1 and keeps the rotation speed of the fan vane axle center 2within a safe range.

As further shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the top and bottom of the blade 2assembly are controlled by the above-described drive motors 31 and 32,respectively, such that each drive motor 31 and 32 controls a differentquantity of blades. For example, the upper drive motor 31 in the presentembodiment controls the rotation of two sets of blades, and the lowerdrive motor 32 controls the rotation of three sets of blades. Inaddition, the upper and lower drive motors 31 and 32 can effect controlseparately. To take the above drive motor 31 as an example, the drivemotor 31, by means of the push rod 71, pushes the horizontal rotatingshaft 22 (provided within the fan vane axle center 2) 90 degrees. Thishorizontal rotating shaft 22 drives a rotating disk 23, causing thisrotating disk 23, by means of a push rod 72, to push the rotating shaft13 90 degrees in the previously described protective rod 15.

As further shown in FIG. 5, the rotating shafts 13 and 14, by means ofthe push rods 73 and 74, push several rotating disks 24 secured on thetwo vertical connecting rods 17 90 degrees. The rotating disks 24, alsoby means of push rods 75, push the rotation of the blades 1 90 degrees.Therefore, two rotating shafts 13 and 14 (upper and lower) separatelycontrol the rotation of different quantities of blades 1, so that thewindward-facing blade 1 assembly is vertical, and the other side ishorizontal.

Please refer to FIG. 6. The windmill blades 1 of the present inventionhave a high-efficiency structure. In addition to the fact that theabove-described blades 1 are vertical and absorb wind energy when movingwith the wind and horizontal and reduce wind resistance when without awindward surface, the blades 1 have a curved extension surface 11 at thedistal end from the fan vane axle center 2. This extension surface 11has an 18-20 degree angle relative to the blade 1. This enables theextension surface 11 to generate additional force and greatly increasewind energy absorption effectiveness of the blades. Please also refer toFIG. 1. The cross-pattern (top-view) of the blade 1 assembly of thepresent invention is divided into exactly 4 units. When the blades 1 ofa unit are perpendicular (90 degrees) to the wind direction A and arereceiving wind energy and rotating backwards as shown in FIG. 6, theescaping wind energy F flows across the extension surface 11 which is atan 18-20 degree angle at the distal end of the blade 1. At this point,the escaping wind energy F can effectively strike against the extensionsurface 11 and generate a backward rotation force. This force is called“lift” in aerodynamics, and the direction R of blade movement is at a 90degree angle to the wind direction A.

The lift that can be generated by this lift-generating extension surface11 is entirely the same as the optimal curve surface P1 relative to winddirection A in a traditional windpower generator P. The following is ananalysis of the above: When each blade 1 assembly is at a 90 degreeangle to the wind direction A and moves backwards, the vertical windwardsurface gradually decreases while the escaping wind energy F escapingacross the extension surface 11 increases. We can perform analysis andcalculations based on an angle of 135 degrees relative to wind directionA. This gives us the equations below:

a. W=Total wind energy of the windmill (windmill height×windmill width)

b. ¼ W=Wind energy of one windmill blade 1 assembly. Since there arefour unit assemblies, it is one-fourth of W.

c. ¼ W×cos 45 degrees=0.1767767 W (escaped wind energy F).

d. Given that the above-described escaped energy F=0.1767767 W, and thefull quantity passes over the lift-generating extension surface 11, thefollowing forces can be generated:

(1) Lift, the maximum lift that can be generated from an extensionsurface 11 having an 18-20 degree angle relative to the wind directionA; its coefficient is 1.8.

(2) This force is generated by the extension surface 11 at the distalend of the blade 1. Compared to this force evenly distributed over theentire blade 1 unit (the blade 1 closest to the rotating shaft center tothe blade 1 furthest out), it can double (multiply by 2) the force.

(3) When the above-described escaped wind energy F passes over theextension surface 11, the force that it generates can have a maximumvalue of 0.1767767 W×1.8×2=0.63639612 W.

When a blade 1 assembly in the above-described second quadrant is at a135 degree angle relative to the wind direction A, there will be a blade1 assembly at a 45 degree angle to the wind direction A in the firstquadrant. Its wind energy is ¼×sin 45 degrees=0.1767767 W. The totalwind energy generated by the first and second quadrant blade assemblyunits is 0.81317282 W, which exceeds the 0.593 W maximum for wind energyabsorbed by a traditional wind power generator P.

The above detailed description is a concrete description of a feasibleembodiment of the present invention. The purpose of this embodiment isnot to restrict the present invention. All equivalent embodiments ormodifications that do not depart from the art of the present inventionshould be included within the present invention.

APPLICABILITY TO INDUSTRY

The present invention provides a large, safe, high-efficiency windmillthat increases windmill size so as to capture a large amount of windpower for the generation of electricity. It lowers investment cost, andincreases power generation profits while maintaining wind power safelyover a long period of time. It can be effectively applied to wind energypower generation technologies.

1. A large, safe, highly-efficient windmill, comprising a plurality offan vane assemblies stacked on top of each other; each fan vane assemblycomprising a fan vane axle center, the two ends of said fan vane axlecenter having connectors connecting upper and lower fan vane assembliesto transmit motive power; and there being a plurality of bladeassemblies extending from two sides of the fan vane axle center; therebeing provided one rotating shaft above and one below said fan vaneassembly, said rotating shaft being equipped with a drive motor enablingsaid rotating shaft to control the rotation of a plurality of blades;said rotating shaft being externally provided with a horizontalprotective rod for concentrating wind energy from the blade assemblyonto the fan vane axle center; and a wind-direction vane being providedon top of said windmill, said wind-direction vane being capable ofcontrolling the rotation of the fan vanes; characterized by the factthat: said blades have a curved extension surface on the end distal fromthe fan vane axle center, said extension surface being at an 18-20degree angle relative to the blade.
 2. The large, safe, highly-efficientwindmill as described in claim 1, characterized by the fact that: itfurther comprises: a frame, said frame extending from the connectors asvertical H-shaped columns or H-shaped crossbeams, and the base of saidframe having reinforcing vertical columns and horizontal beams wherethere are no fan vane assemblies, and the top of said frame having aroof to prevent the accumulation of snow on the blades.
 3. The large,safe, highly-efficient windmill as described in claim 1, characterizedby the fact that: it further comprises: a generating set, comprising aplurality of generators and driven by a gear box pivotally mounted atthe lowest fan vane axle center, said gear box, depending on theintensity of the wind, transmitting motive power to any one generator orsimultaneously to multiple generators, which generate electricity. 4.The large, safe, highly-efficient windmill as described in claim 1,characterized by the fact that: a vertical connecting rod is providedbetween said pluralities of upper and lower blades, said verticalconnecting rod concentrating motive power from the blades to upper andlower protective rods so as to concentrate wind power onto the fan vanecenter axle.
 5. The large, safe, highly-efficient windmill as describedin claim 4, characterized by the fact that: said vertical connecting rodis provided with a plurality of projections, said blades being axiallymounted at the ends of the projections such that when said blades arerotated vertically or horizontally, all of said blade ends can besecured by resting on the projections.
 6. The large, safe,highly-efficient windmill as described in claim 4, characterized by thefact that: said vertical connecting rods are internally provided with aplurality of disks, said disks directly or indirectly being connected tosaid upper or lower rotating shafts by push rods and causing each diskto extend, by another push rod, to the corresponding blade assembly,enabling said rotating shaft to likewise¹ drive the rotation of aplurality of blades.
 7. The large, safe, highly-efficient windmill asdescribed in claim 1, characterized by the fact that: saidwind-direction vane is connected to a fan-shaped controller, and therebeing microswitches provided where the blade assemblies are disposed inthe rotation path of the fan-shaped controller; when the wind-directionvane rotates in the direction of the wind, said fan-shaped controllermakes contact with appropriately-positioned microswitches, saidmicroswitches activating relays controlling drive motors to adjust therotation of the blades.
 8. The large, safe, highly-efficient windmill asdescribed in claim 1, characterized by the fact that: saidwind-direction vane is connected to a wind-speed switch, said wind-speedswitch being connected to a fan-shaped control disk, there being aplurality of microswitches in the rotation path of said fan-shapedcontrol disk; when wind intensity changes, said fan-shaped controllercan make contact with the appropriately-positioned microswitches, saidmicroswitches activating relays controlling the drive motors to adjustthe rotation of the blades.